Two's Company
by v.e.vogel
Summary: Sakura is on the brink of a medical breakthrough! Her and her assigned travel companion, Itachi, set off to the village Imosen to put her findings into action. Do signs of friendship or sparks of romance develop along the way? Non-Mass AU.
1. Chapter 1

Two's Company Chapter 1

Hi everyone. This is going to be a little three-part story. I hope you all enjoy it! Please give me lots of feedback. I would love to know what you think. About two thirds is already written, so I'm hoping to upload one part a week or like every two weeks. I haven't decided yet.

I did my best to try and stay medically accurate, but I apologize if there are any inaccuracies. I'm not a doctor nor do I have any training. I just know what Google tells me.

Enjoy!

* * *

Itachi and Sakura sat side by side. It was a comfortable silence. Their shoulders approximately 20 inches apart, which is just within the safe average for personal space. Sakura rested her hands in her lap as she contemplated why they were called to the Hokage's office. It felt a little strange to be kept waiting, and it was even odd to her that Itachi had chosen a seat rather than to stand and wait – as she had seen him and Sasuke do on several occasions. She was in no place to comment on odd behavior though.

Sakura hadn't exactly been herself the past few months, and she was mildly aware of it. While her inner self lectured her to go out more and see her friends, her personal drive kept her in her lab researching. She found herself so incredibly wrapped up in her research that it was difficult to break away. Almost every waking moment was dedicated to the work that she was doing. She was on the brink of something amazing. It was hard to keep her expectations in check while she was seeing so much success in animal trials. One month ago, she had presented her findings to Tsunade and Shizune. She was ready to begin on a disease that affected humans, but she understood that she needed to wait for the right time and situation to further her research.

It was a medical ninjutsu technique that she had been developing. Medical ninjutsu in the hands of an extremely practiced and disciplined medical ninja can do amazing things. On the battlefield, there isn't much that can't be done to save someone's life.

But unfortunately, medical ninjutsu to the average population has severe drawbacks. It has almost no application to ailments aside from physical injury, surgery and poisoning. But what Sakura has developed, could completely change the medical world as they knew it. What she had would be by no means a cure all, but it can certainly open the doors to more than we have ever dreamed of. She was essentially able to isolate a virus in a multi celled organism using medical chakra, target the infected cells and inhibit the virus's further development. This technique could potentially cure viral diseases that were completely drug resistant.

"Haruno-san," a deep voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Sakura looked up and saw Itachi holding the door to the Hokage's office open.

"Sumimasen Uchiha-san," she said politely and then followed him in.

The meeting was what she had been waiting for. South of Konoha in its peninsula, there was an epidemic of an unidentified disease plaguing a small village called Imosen. With symptoms of dehydration and fevers, it was high on the priority list. Sakura immediately departed to the lab and packed her supplies. She took out large storage scrolls and took everything she could. The details on the mission were limited, so she did not want to be unprepared. After packing away a few supply closets worth of items she decided she would just request more if it came down to it. She was only one person. Afterwards she went home to pack a few personal items, and then met her favorite boys down at Ichiraku Ramen.

Sakura took a seat right between Sasuke and Naruto and placed an order for her and her sensei. She figured Kakashi would take his time in arriving.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaan," Naruto yelled as he hugged Sakura tightly. "I haven't seen you in years!"

"Baaakaa," she said as she wormed out of his grip, "You were only gone for a week."

"I don't get why Tsunade baa-chan didn't just have you come with us," Naruto said disgruntled. They had just returned from a rather grueling mission to Sand, and Sakura was grateful that she didn't have to go. "Our escort was the worst."

"Naruto-kun, don't talk about our clients like that," Sakura scolded, "Jun-chan needed the experience with a high-level team, so Tsunade thought it would be best for her to take my place." Matter of fact, Sakura recommended Jun-chan, to Tsunade, to take her place. Sakura had met their escort once before on a diplomacy mission, and she was not looking forward to meeting him again. It just so happened that Jun had just completed her basic medical ninja training and was ready for a high-level team on a low-level mission.

Naruto complained more about the mission, but as soon as the food showed up he focused on an important food mission. Sasuke's shoulders were slumped over as he picked at his ramen. Something seemed off with him. Kakashi, as if on cue, appeared ready for the food.

"Ehhh, speaking of missions, I have a medical mission myself coming up." Naruto and Sasuke both broke away from their bowls to look over at her. "There's a highly infectious disease south of here." She said it darkly. The boy's skin crawled and they quickly turned back to their bowls.

"Oh, yeah, Sakura? Ha-ha, you have fun with that one…" Naruto tried, but the thought of working with a bunch of sick people gave him the chills.

"What team will you be traveling with," Kakashi asked. His mask was perfectly in place, and his meal was finished.

"I'll be traveling with another leaf ninja who has different mission in the area. It should be relatively slow in terms of excitement."

"That's sounds really boring," Naruto said frankly earning him a bonk on the head and a low, 'dobe.' "Teme…" Naruto started, his temper beginning to fly.

"Ne Sasuke-kun, you've been quiet tonight," Sakura bashfully pointed out.

Naruto laughed loudly. Bits of ramen flew from his mouth. "Teme and his brother got into a little fight," he said through his laughter, "Itachi he – and then teme, he-," he struggled with getting the words out.

"Shut it dobe," Sasuke yelled trying to shut him up. Naruto calmed as another bowl of ramen was placed in front of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"

"It's not a big deal, he's leaving for a mission anyway," Sasuke said, clearly ended the topic.

Sakura nodded, and was glad she didn't say exactly who she was travelling with. It would probably be best to not mention it at all. Soon after the mood returned, and it was time to call it a night. They all parted ways, and Sakura went home to get a good night's rest.

Itachi and Sakura traveled at a comfortable pace. Sakura took her time during the journey to study the foliage as they walked. The plants became more tropical. She noted a few medicinal herbs in case she runs low. While her mission was to isolate the virus and study it, she wanted to make the villagers as comfortable as possible while she worked towards a cure. They weren't only there for her to study, they were her patients as well.

Itachi and Sakura made a camp surrounded by a few trees, and Sakura reviewed her notes as they sat in silence. She always felt a little uncomfortable around Itachi. There was no way that he wasn't aware of her embarrassing crush on his little brother. She also knew that he wasn't one for conversation, so what was the point in trying?

Sakura took the first watch and allowed him to sleep first. She read her notes and probed the area with her chakra every fifteen minutes or so. Around 2:30 am something caught her attention, quick movement, but movement none the less. She put a gentle hand on Itachi's shoulder to rouse him, a moment later his eyes opened, with sharingan already spinning. He scanned the area and disappeared seconds later. Sakura felt the unfamiliar presence disappear, and Itachi returned to the base camp. "Good work" he said, and then glanced over to Sakura's notebook. "Get some rest."

Sakura didn't question the shift change and rested against a nearby tree. Her heavy eyes shut, and she let her mind drift to sleep.

She woke to some rustling and the smell of cooking fish. There was a small fire and two little fish attached to a stick. Sakura smiled gratefully. "Arigato Uchiha-san" He plated each fish, one for her and one for him. The flaky white meat was cooked well and tasted good regardless of the absence of seasoning. They still had about another day and a half worth of travel before they reached the village, so they had to keep their strength up and arrive and good health. After they arrived, Itachi was to part ways temporarily and continue his own mission, while Sakura would begin her research. She didn't know the details of Itachi's mission, but she did know that it was supposed to be along the lines of reconnaissance. Very little anticipated combat, but she was of course prepared otherwise.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and they arrived on time. A young man named Eric came out to great them, and they exchanged formalities. He led Sakura and Itachi to the village leader and they talked about the disease that's been plaguing them, its symptoms, and its rate of infection. Sakura nodded and said that she would do her best to help them.

The village leader was excited to hear that it was her coming, such a renowned doctor and medical ninja. They know that they would be in good hands. Itachi glanced over to her briefly and she smiled humbly. The young man that greeted them then led them to a community center. It had been cleared out and had several cots for patients to sleep in. The number of ill had been growing rapidly. There was a small clinic just two buildings over and that was chosen to be the base of operations. They set up small mat on the second story for Sakura to sleep. The man looked at Sakura and then Itachi and then awkwardly mentioned that he would have another one sent over to them. Sakura laughed and said that it's not necessary. Itachi will not be staying in the village for long, and hell, they're both used to sleeping on the ground if it comes down to it. It was better to save the extra bed for a patient.

The young man left them to let them settle in and said that a meal would be provided for them in a few hours.

Itachi put some of his belongings on the ground and said, "I will be leaving in the morning."

Sakura looked up from her things, "Why don't you take the bed then? I don't know how strenuous your mission will be, but I'm sure you could use a good night's rest."

"That will not be necessary," Itachi said firmly. There was no official leader of their team because they were essentially travel partners, but he spoke as if he was the captain. "You too will need to rest well for your orders."

Sakura frowned. He did have a good point. "How about we compromise? I take the futon, and you can sleep on both of our sleeping bags – so you're not completely uncomfortable."

Itachi was quiet for a moment and then hummed a "Hn," of approval.

Happy with her victory, Sakura pulled out her notebook and began recording notes from her earlier meeting. She didn't want to forget anything. Any little passing detail could be a key component in curing this disease. Her first step though, would be to contain the spread of infection. No one at this point knew for sure if the disease was airborne, so tonight, she would have to inform everyone of the proper precautions to take to lessen the spread of disease.

Sakura froze for a moment, her hand lit up green and she rested it against her chest. Itachi looked over at her, and she said, "Based on how quickly this disease is spreading, this could very well be an airborne pathogen, I don't want to take any chances." She let her chakra coat her lungs and her esophagus. A thin protective film over the vulnerable mucus membrane. "I didn't want to frighten them by immediately wearing a mask. It might cause panic, and that's the last thing we need." Sakura removed her hand from her chest and motioned to Itachi, "May I?" She asked, and he nodded.

His health was just as important. "Before we eat, let me look over your food as well. We can't help but be cautious." Sakura sat back after she finished. "I don't want to scare them unnecessarily, so the first step will be finding out how this disease spreads. From there, we can slow down the rate of infection and really start to focus on the recovery and cure." Sakura was beginning to wish that Tsunade had sent a helper with her, someone who could assist her in meeting patients, but the nature of this research was too confidential, and Shizune was needed at their own village hospital. Itachi, silent as ever, watched her jot down a few more notes. Sakura pulled out a disposable mask and wrapped it around her ears. "I'm going to go down to the community center for some preliminary observations." With notebook in hand she took off.

The patients looked rough. There was no denying it. Sakura felt attacked by the disease even though she had a mask and her chakra protecting her lungs. This room was suffocating. Rows and rows and patients laid on their mats. The sound of pain, moist coughs and snot filled the air. Sakura pulled one of her storage scrolls out of her pocket. She walked up to the wall next to the hall she entered from and she released the scroll. Out popped a table with several tightly packed boxes. Out of a plain white box she pulled out plastic. It was about the size of the door way. Sakura reached up and mounted it to the hallway entrance and then to the main door. There were large strips cut to make it easy to pass through. Walking back to the table she pulled out another scroll and released it once she was in the room. Two medium sized air purifies appeared. She set one up by the entrance and then on up on the other side of the room.

Sakura walked up onto the platform at the back of the room and stood. "Minna," she called out, catching the attention of the nurses and the patients with a clear enough mind. "My name is Sakura Haruno, of the Leaf Village. I am here to help you recover, and to find a cure for this terrible disease. I look forward to working with you! Will all the nurses please join me by the front entrance in five minutes? Arigato."

Small chatter between the nurses took place shortly after. Sakura wasn't one for long speeches, and she wanted to get the introductions done as fast as possible. She stepped off the platform and walked down the row directly in front of the stage. Halfway down, a patient grabbed her arm. Her skin was pale and leathery, and she looked like she was struggling to breath. The hand on her arm felt like ice and the woman looked like she hadn't had a sip of water in days, "Nurse," Sakura yelled loudly, "I need a saline drip. Now."

Sakura immediately got to work as she tried to bring this woman back from death. The first thing that she needed to treat was the severe dehydration. She hadn't realized that some of their patients were this in need of even basic treatment. Sakura truly hoped that she wasn't too late for them. In the back of her mind she wished that she hadn't traveled at such a slow pace. Sakura's hands glowed green as she assessed the patients' condition. "Nurse," she shouted again. "Saline. Now. On the table." She ran her glowing hands up and down her body, the woman's condition rapidly deteriorated. She was going into cardiac arrest. Sakura jumped into CPR, and she began shouting more orders for the nurses. After a slow two minutes of compressions, the woman's eyes fluttered opened, and she breathed shallowly. A nurse began to finally insert an IV to get her fluids. She held the bag up above her head with her hand. There was no time to search for a stand.

"Hello there," Sakura said kindly, "You gave us quite the scare." She smiled down at the woman. The old woman shut her eyes to fall asleep, lacking the energy to respond. Sakura's smiled dropped, and she turned to face the two nurses who had attempted to help. "Do you want to tell me why you stood there gawking while a patient went into cardiac arrest," Sakura said loudly. She spoke to the whole room, and not just the nurses in front of her. "Can anyone tell me why only two out of the five nurses came and only one was of any help?"

Sakura crossed her arms, and a vein began to pop out of her head. "There's only so much incompetence that I can handle. People's lives are at stake here, so shape up or get the fuck out." Some of the patients eyed her and the nurses avoided eye contact.

Sakura would not let their incompetence end the life of one of her patients. She walked to the front entrance and stood next to the table. "I expect all of you to be standing here in two minutes for our meeting." She then turned and took the top off one of the larger boxes on the table. She pulled out a collapsed IV stand and began to set it up. The nurse was still standing next to the patient, holding up the IV drip. Sakura rolled the stand over to her and gently took the bag out of her hand. "What's your name?" Sakura fixed the bag to the stand.

"Mie," the nurse responded. Her eyes were downcast.

"Mie-san, thank you for your hand work." Sakura and Mie walked to the front of the room as they waited for the rest of the nurses.

When all of them had gathered, Sakura gave them strict orders. After seeing the response for the earlier incident, she was not going to cut them any slack. Together, they stayed up and logged each patient. Each patient's condition was assessed, their symptoms were taken, they were given wrist band tags, and full charts with a basic medical history. One hundred and twenty-two patients total. They have 38 beds remaining, and not nearly enough supplies. The mission description truly underestimated the problem.

Sakura told the nurses good night. Two would stay and monitor the condition of the patients, and the rest of them would get some well-deserved rest. Sakura checked the watch on her arm and cursed at the time. 0100. 'Shit,' she said internally. She walked to her small clinic. Sakura sat for a couple of moments at the main desk and recorded the night. Every detail, every moment. Her record was impeccable. She walked up the stairs, and cursed again when she saw Itachi, sleeping on the two sleeping bags, and two plates of food untouched on a small portable table. She didn't want to wake him, so she simply stepped over him and quietly laid on the mat. She had completely forgotten about dinner. Once she had seen the despicable state of their makeshift hospital she didn't have time not to act.

Sakura woke early. Itachi was still resting on the ground. She stood up and crept downstairs. On a little note she requested several more supplies to treat the patients, and sent it off with a crow. A cure could take weeks, possibly months or years to perfect. She needed to help these people now.

A knock on the door grabbed her attention. Sakura opened the clinic door and Eric stood there with a tray with two meals on it. "Ohayo Eric-san."

"Haruno – sensei, ohayo. I have breakfast." The breakfast smelled delicious.

Sakura took the tray from his hands and motioned him in. "I appreciate you bringing this Eric-san."

"It's no trouble. For all you're doing for the village, we'd feel terrible if we didn't."

"Arigato," she said with a smile.

Eric stood uncomfortably in the door way. "I hear," he trailed off, "I hear you put the nurses to work last night," he awkwardly joked.

"Mhmm," Sakura said as she tried to figure out the right words. She didn't want to insult his village or the people who trained them. "Uchiha-san," Sakura said. He was standing in the entrance to the hallway. He looked dressed and ready for the day.

Eric glance over to Itachi and nodded. Eric seemed a little hesitant. He turned back to Sakura and opened his mouth, "So-,"

"Thank you for stopping by Eric-san, I appreciate it," Sakura said as she walked over to the front door.

"I'll, uh, I'll see you later," he waved and gave her a big smiled. Sakura closed the door behind him. She silently walked over to the food and scanned it with her green chakra. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Hopefully whoever is in their kitchen took proper precautions to prepare everyone's food.

"It's safe to eat, Uchiha-san.," Sakura said. She started to lay out the plates for them to eat comfortably. "I apologize for last night. I lost track of time." Sakura was hesitant to full on say, 'I'm sorry I told you not to eat and then forgot about dinner,' but she figured Itachi would know what she meant.

Itachi simply nodded in return and then began to eat his meal. He paused with cup in hand, "I will be leaving within hour," he said.

Sakura looked up at him, "When should I expect you to check in?"

"A weeks' time, and then we will plan from there depending on the status of the village, your research, and the results of my mission."

Sakura smiled, "We'll both do our best."

Sakura and Itachi finished their meals in silence. Itachi gathered his things and prepared to leave, while Sakura reviewed her notes from the previous night. There was so much to do, but with a little bit of hard work she would have this team running like a well-oiled machine. No doubt about it.

By noon she had received a response from the Konoha, along with the first supply scroll she had requested. Itachi had left several hours ago and now it was just her and her team. Her team was to work in rotating schedules. Two people over night, two people during the day, and then one person to assist Sakura when she was in. From what she had learned last night this one going to be an upward battle. After ensuring everyone was in stable condition, they arranged the patients according to varying conditions. Those that could walk, walked to their new bed placement, and those that could not, were carried.

Sakura was pleased to see that the woman from yesterday had improved drastically. They had set up over 50 IVs last night for the dehydrated patients.

With a growing list of symptoms, and worsening conditions, Sakura debated once again asking for more assistance from the village. They could even send Ino-pig, and that would be an improvement, but she would only do that if she truly needed to. For right now, they could get by.

Mie stood next to Sakura as they watched the room in motion. "Sugoi," she said quietly. Sakura looked over at her questioningly. "We don't really have a medical program here," she said meekly. "All of our nurses are really just people who had some experience and volunteered to help. None of us have had much training. It's incredible to see them like this."

Sakura smiled big, and patted her firmly on the back, "Well I'm here to whip you all into shape," she said cheekily.

The days passed by quickly, as she started her research. She seemed to be making real progress. Luckily, the virus was not airborne, but instead was transferred through direct body fluid contact. Knowing this, she was able to teach the remaining healthy villagers how to prevent infection.

Her patients were doing very well. Conditions were improving with a simple lift of moral and some much needed fluids. Although, there were some patients who were not demonstrating much change. There wasn't much Sakura could do. She was treating them with an anti-viral, but it seemed ineffective for those in a worsened condition. She needed to know more about the virus before she could move forward with traditional medicine. If her chakra technique was ready to use, she wouldn't hesitate on the severely ill, but being untested, it was too dangerous to move forward. Their bodies would have to heal on their own with the help of the medications sent in from Konoha.

Sakura was reviewing her notes in the clinic when she heard a quick knock and then the door creak open. "Eric-san," Sakura said, "how can I help you?"

"Well, I, uh, Mie-chan," he stumbled over his words. "Mie-chan and I will be going one town over for dinner," Eric yelled out quickly. Sakura looked on with surprise. "Mie wants you to come with us."

Sakura's eyes were wide with even more surprise. "Oh," she said. Sakura couldn't think of a reason not to go. Her mission was going very well, and it would be a great opportunity to pick Mie's brain on the past few days. It seemed to get so busy when they work together that they don't have much time to talk it out. Mie had really proved to be an asset. "Sure, that sounds fun," Sakura said, and she turned back to her notes.

Eric stared on for a few more moments and stuttered out an excited, "OK."

Sakura looked up once he left and stared at the door. Eric wasn't this nervous when she first came to the town, so she wasn't sure what changed. She speculated that he could be feeling under the weather. Sakura made a mental note to ask him later if he was feeling alright.

After two hour's worth of rounds and another hour of recording her observations, Sakura was ready for a good meal. The town had been feeding her well, but she was craving something more. Sakura dressed in casual clothing that she had purchased from the local boutique. She only had her ninja and medical gear, and she felt out of place with Mie dressed very well. Sakura donned a maroon dress with an A-line cut. It had a tight bodice and an open back, the waist flowed out leaving her enough room to stash her kunai and medical supplies around her thighs. Mie was wearing a black blouse with frilled edges around the arm, and blue denim jeans.

"Wahhh Sakura-chan, you look great," Mie said, "Come on, let's go meet up with Eric and Hoku!"

"Ehh, Hoku" Sakura questioned, "Eric didn't mention a Hoku."

Mie winked at Sakura, "It was a little last minute. I met him last week but ran into on the way home from the community center and he happened to be free tonight." Mie looked to Sakura with pleading eyes, "Please please say it's okay. I know you wanted to talk about work, but –," Mie didn't finish her sentence and instead amplified her puppy dog eyes. "Hoku is really cute," she pouted.

Sakura sighed defeated. She hadn't known Mie long, and this was a side she hadn't seen before. "Okay Mie," she said as she ran a hand through her hair. This was one of the last things she expected out of tonight, but she figured it wouldn't kill her to have some fun with friends and let Mie have this night. It's been almost a week, and all the nurses have worked so hard to get the better hand on this disease they were fighting. They all deserved a fun night out like this.

Sakura and Mie met up with the boys, and they walked together to the next town over. Mie chatted excitedly with Hoku, while Sakura kept to herself lost in her thoughts. Eric tried a few times to start a conversation, but he kept giving up and sighing. When they reached the restaurant, they ended up sitting paired as if they were two couples on a date. Mie continued to happily chat, and she drove the group conversation.

After the meal, Mie and Hoku wanted to keep their date going, and the duo left Sakura and Eric in the dust. Sakura couldn't deny that she had a good time. She really did. Hoku was charming, and she didn't get interaction with boys like often. It was nice live vicariously through Mie for a moment. But now she was left with Eric to accompany her home. Eric hadn't said much to Sakura. He seemed uncomfortable, and Sakura wondered if he even had a good time. Maybe he was upset about Hoku? Maybe he had a crush on Mie? Whatever it was, it was starting to bug her.

Sakura and Eric walked in silence, when she felt something brush her hand. She looked over and saw Eric's face turning red. "Eric-san, are you okay," Sakura asked concerned. His cheeks were turning an alarming amount of red, "You look red. Do you have a fever?"

Eric quickly looked away. "No, I-," he said trying to keep his face out of view, "I just uhm," Eric grabbed Sakura's hand and laced his fingers between hers.

Sakura was taken aback. This was the last thing she had expected. Her cheeks flushed a light pink, as she quickly unlaced their hands. "Eric-san, I," this time Sakura stuttered, "I think you may have gotten the wrong impression."

Sakura didn't have much experience with boys. She didn't date much growing up due to her constant crush on Sasuke. As she got older though, and the crush was replaced with friendship, and dating never really crossed her mind again. Occasionally some men would make a pass at her, but it was never something she followed up on. "Gomen," she said quietly. She now understood why he was acting the way he did. He was fleeting around her, like Hinata around Naruto. Sakura was a little annoyed at herself for not noticing the signs.

Eric was not deterred though. "I think you look really beautiful tonight," he said confidently, a stark difference to how he was acting earlier.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably and said, "Thank you Eric, but I'm not really -."

"Are you seeing him," Eric cut her off. "Is that why?"

Sakura was confused. "Who…," she wondered aloud.

"That man. The Uchiha," he almost spit out.

Sakura's cheeks flushed once again, "No," she said loudly. "He's just my partner for this mission," she said, recovering from her outburst.

"He looks at me funny. Like I'm competition," Eric said, attempting to explain himself. "So, I thought he might have been, but I wasn't sure."

Sakura internally laughed. She had only ever seen one expression on Itachi's face and it was as emotionless as it gets. "Eric-san," she said gently, "I honestly think that's just his face."

They continued their walk-in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Sakura tried her best to not think about Eric, and instead found herself wondering how Itachi was doing. He was gone for four days now, so she should be expecting him to check-in with her in three.

When they reached the village entrance they parted ways. Eric insisted on walking Sakura home, but she assured him that she was a highly trained kunoichi and that she could handle herself. Instead of going to the clinic for some rest though, Sakura walked to the community center. She was feeling restless after that night and hoped that putting in some hard hours at work would help clear her mind.

At 3 in the morning it was finally time to call it quits. Her eyelids felt heavy and she wished that she could sleep on the floor here instead of walking home. She thanked Kami that the bed was so close to her work. At home Sakura brushed her teeth and laid on her futon, waiting for sleep to claim her.

About to drift off, her body started tingling. She felt a familiar presence nearby. 'Sasuke,' she thought, 'No. Itachi.' Her mind was now on high alert. Sakura with kunai in hand, heard the door downstairs creek open. She rounded the corner of her room and peered down when she saw a bloody and dirtied Itachi. With a quick scan of his chakra she knew it was truly him. "Were you followed," she asked immediately, wanting to know if the fight was coming to them. Sakura probed the area once with her chakra looking for anything red flags.

"No," he breathed out. His body was hunched over, and he looked like he was struggling to stand. Sakura rushed to his side and immediately got to work as he lost consciousness. She laid him onto the floor and took an assessment of his condition with her chakra. Punctured lung, multiple lacerations, a large blunt trauma to his chest.

Whoever did this had to have been extremely skilled to do this much damage to _Itachi_. Her green glowing hands wasted no time stitching him back together. She could feel drops of sweat falling from her forehead. Her body was starting to show signs of exhaustion, but she knew she couldn't stop. When Sakura was satisfied with her work, she used her enhanced strength and carried him up the stairs. She quickly stripped him of his bloody and torn clothes and wiped him down with a damp towel. She then laid him on futon and promptly fell asleep on the floor next to him after probing the area with her chakra one last time.


	2. Chapter 2

Two's Company

Hi everyone! Here is chapter 2 as promised. This story took a little bit of a turn from what I originally intended by I think that it's on a good track. I think it's starting to develop into itself a bit. I know I originally said it would be a three part, but it looks like it might turn into a 4 part. No promises!

Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think. :)

* * *

Chapter 2

Sakura's eyes slowly opened, and she groaned loudly. Her head was throbbing. She quickly shut her eyes when exposed to the bright light flooding into the room. Her memories saturated her mind as she recalled the rollercoaster that was last night. The dinner, Eric, her patients…and Itachi. Two unexpected events were enough for her to want to end this mission and go home. She was in luck though, because with what ever happened during Itachi's mission, meant that he would have to report to Konoha directly and take a few days to rest.

Itachi's mission had been compromised. It was clear as day. While Sakura knew better than to make assumptions about S-class, classified mission, she couldn't help but think that something went terribly wrong. Itachi was not one to slip up. A man of his caliber and experience would not have failed unless there was an outside source that compromised his intel and mission. He was near impossible to detect and his skill set was unrivaled. And frankly, she couldn't imagine a world where Tsunade planned for him to get this injured. The mission would be marked a failure, a small tarnish to his perfect record.

Itachi laid on the futon resting while Sakura rustled around the room. She pulled out her personal mission log and briefly recorded what had happened.

It was a shame they had to leave so quickly, but they couldn't risk Itachi's mission affecting Sakura's research or this innocent village. Luckily, Sakura already had all the specimen samples that she needed to collect for her to begin testing in Konoha. Ever prepared, she also had a plan in place in case she had to leave earlier than anticipated. With Mie in charge, she was confident that they would be able to continue to treat the patients in her absence. Many of the patients that they started with, will be able to return to work in a few days, which was significantly better than what they anticipated. She was surprised that they recovered so quickly.

Sakura noticed Itachi try to rise out of the corner of her eye. His movements were very slow. She knew his body would be extremely sore and a little raw feeling. "Try not to move around too much," Sakura said returning to her items. After shoving some belongings back into her bag, she turned around. He looked ghostly and he had dark circles under his eyes. It was such a stark contrast to the near 'perfect' Uchiha visage. 'Wow four days can do a lot,' Sakura noted. "You look terrible," she blurted aloud. With a gasp she realized what she said and covered her mouth. She looked away feeling guilty for pointing out the obvious.

"Ah," Itachi said, "Then I look better than I feel." Itachi bore circles into her head frowned slightly.

Sakura tried her best to hide a smile. She did her best last night, but there's only so much you can do. The main priority of emergency medicine is to save a life, if the person must suffer through some pain, then so be it. Comfort can come later.

Sakura firmed up and pursed her lips slightly, a little afraid to ask her next question. She opened her mouth to speak when Itachi cut her off, "I have failed my mission." His words seemed so casual. They lacked his 'captain' demeanor that he used earlier when they compromised over the futon. "What is the status of yours?"

"I have collected what I need to further my research in Konoha and the state of medical care here has improved drastically. I feel comfortable leaving the village in the hands of the nurses and beginning the first phase of testing."

Itachi nodded and tried to stand. He halted, frozen in place. With no expression on his face, Sakura could only guess the sharp pains that ran through his abdomen and chest. "If we are going to be travelling, you need to rest." Sakura was stern in her words, having dealt with his kind quite often. "We will depart early morning."

Itachi gave a "Hn," of acknowledgement and slowly laid back down.

Sakura smiled. "Great. I'll inform the nurses and the village leader." Sakura was not met with the resistance she anticipated. Had this have been Naruto or Sasuke she would have been met with an argument or several complaints. She was surprised that he simply complied. Who would have thunk that the Itachi Uchiha, listened to his doctor? It was nice that he wasn't in a hurry to reinjure himself and put unnecessary strain on his body.

Sakura hesitated for a moment before putting a glowing hand to his body, "For the pain," and then she left to tie up loose ends in the village.

Her first stop was the Village Leader's home. She told him she wished that she had more notice, but she would be departing from the village tomorrow morning. She was excited to inform him of the great progress that their medical team had made and the improving condition of the patients. She was very grateful for all their hospitality. She then left to inform her medical team of the news.

"Sakura-chan," she heard someone yell – and internally groaned when she realized who it was.

"Eric-san, it's nice to see you."

"Is it true? Is it true that you're leaving?"

Sakura couldn't believe that he had already found out. The boy was red in the face from jogging, and he rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Please tell me that you'll think about me – when you return to your village," Eric pleaded.

Sakura frantically avoided eye contact. She looked at her surroundings and saw in the clinic 2nd story window Itachi was standing watching with the curtain pulled back. She swore that there was a ghost of a smirk on his face, but it was hard to be sure because of the distance.

"Eric-san," Sakura started, "I thought I was clear that I wasn't interested in anything like that." Sakura spoke slowly and clearly. She felt guilty to speak so bluntly to him, but she had several things to do – and dealing with Eric was not one of them. Sakura bowed, and then continued walking to the community center. She hoped that he understood.

When Sakura entered their makeshift hospital, Mie was already in overseeing today's operations. Mie smiled brightly at Sakura. "Sakura, Sakura! I had a wonderful evening," she said, her voice rivaling her smile. "Thank you thank you!"

Sakura returned her smile, "That's good to hear. I'm really glad things went well."

"Well, how about you and Eric-kun? What do you think," Mie asked, with wide, innocent eyes.

Sakura sighed. 'So, she was in on it,' she thought. "Mie, I don't think something like that would really work out. I'm a kunoichi, I lead a very different life."

"But he's sweet, and kind of cute too," Mie pushed.

Sakura frowned, not knowing how to proceed. Talking about things like this with Ino-pig was so much easier. She didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and Mie seemed pretty invested in this.

"You know Mie," Sakura said, "While I know you can't necessarily use chakra, you should consider getting formally trained in traditional medicine."

Mie looked at Sakura questioningly. "You could work out of the clinic and be a help to the people of your village and ones that are nearby."

Mie's eyes lit up, "You really think so?"

"Oh yes, I think you have a great aptitude for it. You would do very well," Sakura encouraged.

Mie looked over the room excitedly, "I think that I would really enjoy that."

"I actually need to tell you though, I'll be leaving tomorrow morning to return to Konoha."

Mie's smiled melted as she looked back at Sakura. "We were all wondering how long you would stay for." Mie grabbed Sakura's hands tightly and looked at her straight on, "Thank you, for what you've done for us."

Sakura smiled, she could feel tears welling. Once again, she thought about how much could change in just a few days. She loved the time that she spent here. It was difficult for her to not connect with the people that she worked with – a trait that she thinks she picked up from Naruto.

Sakura bid the nurses and the patients goodbye and left to finish her preparations. After sending a crow back to the village to let Tsunade know of their upcoming return, she went upstairs to check on Itachi. She seemed to remember that he was feeling well enough to be walking around and spying on his teammate.

Sakura climbed the stairs ready to give him a piece of her mind. She knew how to talk to a misbehaving patient and if he wanted to be allowed to leave tomorrow and NOT be forced into a piggy back – oh he was gonna to learn.

Sakura slid the door open and came upon a resting Itachi, who was tucked into a sheet on top of the futon. She quietly slid the door shut and then kneeled beside him. She had seen a lot of strange things in the past 24 hours, and he was one of them. His skin regained a little bit of color, and his under-eye circles and stress lines weren't as prominent. He was at peace. Sakura smiled, and she moved a lock of his long hair out of his face. It was reassuring to see him disheveled this morning. For people in held in high regard like him, it's easy to forget that they're still only human. He feels pain just as much as another person does, regardless of how often it happens.

Ninja's often hid behind a mask because of pride or embarrassment, but Sakura liked to think that she knew what they were going through – having been there herself. Itachi was a prodigy but looking through the cracks she couldn't help but wonder if he was cut out for this life. He didn't goad others, or brag about his strengths. He didn't go looking for a fight, needing to prove his strength or dominance. Sakura had only seen him fight a couple of times, training with Sasuke. He was always graceful, and he didn't make unnecessary moves. 'Reserved' would be a good word to describe him. He probably wasn't given a choice, to lead the life that he now lives.

Sakura's body felt heavy and she laid down next to the futon, in the same spot she slept last night. Her head was still throbbing, from all the work she put herself through last night. It was now her time to take her own advice, and rest.

* * *

"Sakura-san," she heard a deep voice call. "Sakura-san," a warm hand touched her shoulder.

Sakura groaned and flipped onto her other side, away from the offending voice. "Sakura, you need to wake up."

Giving in, Sakura turned onto her back and rubbed her eyes open. Standing over her was Itachi Uchiha. "O-ohayo, Itachi-san," Sakura said with a blush forming across her cheeks.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Itachi replied politely. "I have finished packing."

"Hai," Sakura responded, quickly waking up, now more aware of the situation. She readied her pack, and quickly made herself presentable. Itachi and Sakura set out before the sun was risen. The air was cool and damp. They had decided to travel at a faster pace than before. Sakura always felt a sense of urgency to return home, and due to the nature of their departure, it would be in their best interest to make haste.

Itachi didn't seem bothered by his previous injuries. His form and his pace seemed unfazed – as if he didn't just get the shit beat out of him. Sakura couldn't help but wonder how whoever had attacked him was able to get the upper hand. It was scary for her to image that someone was able to injure him. Out of all his spars with Sasuke, her childhood friend was only able to land a single blow. Sasuke was by no means a weak man. He was arguably one of the strongest up and coming ninja there was. Her whole team as a matter of fact was a force to be reckoned with. Naruto trained by Jiraiya, Sasuke by Orochimaru (briefly), and Sakura herself by the Godaime.

Out of sheer fear, she was grateful that she didn't really know the details of Itachi's mission. What type of monster could do that to one of the strongest ninja in the Konoha? Sakura frowned at her thoughts. She normally wouldn't concern herself with cowardly thoughts, but something about this whole situation instilled just an inkling of fear in her. She was afraid that her village was getting involved in something that could irrevocably change the world.

Sakura pushed her dark thoughts away and instead tried to focus on her work at hand during her travels. Her research, this virus, and the cure. It was very peculiar to her. Almost suspicious how rapid a recovery many of the patients made. Something didn't sit right with it. She hoped that Mie and the nurses could handle it on their own for at least a few months while she worked towards an actual cure and not just a treatment. Her goal was to eliminate the virus completely from their bodies. This way, it will limit the chances of one of the infected becoming a carrier, unintentionally spreading it to others.

Sakura looked over at Itachi, who also seemed to be lost in thought. They had been making good time. With only one break to rest, they were over halfway there. "Should we stop for the night," Sakura asked. They didn't want to overdo it. Turning a three-and-a-half-day trip into a two-day trip was plenty fast for her. She didn't want to see any of their bodies get injured because of extreme disregard for their own safety.

Itachi let out a quiet, "Hn," and motioned for her to stop running. The two paused in the tree line and then dropped to a field below. "Yes, we should get some rest. I will take the first watch."

Sakura nodded, grateful for the rest. Her body was tired, and her muscles ached. "How are you feeling?" If she felt this bad from the exhaustion two days ago, there was a good shot that he was still in a bit of pain from his injuries.

"I am fine," he said sternly. Sakura looked closely at his face. She could barely start to see signs of body stress. Paleness, and maybe even beads of sweat.

"Itachi, you need to let me know if you are in pain," Sakura said, not wanting to back down. "I am here to make sure that prideful ninjas don't kill themselves because they think they're invincible." Sakura held her ground, channeling her inner self – strong and feisty.

"We're only human, Itachi-san," Sakura said in a much softer voice. She was truly concerned about his wellbeing. If he over did it, he could find himself taken off the mission roster for a week or longer as he recovered.

"Very well," Itachi said. Sakura motioned for him to sit. Itachi sat on the ground with one knee up and the other leg tucked slightly in. Sakura leaned into him slightly to give his body a scan. Lots of muscle strain, but no permanent damage. He healed well, but he's not out of the woods yet.

"We'll travel at a slower pace tomorrow. We should arrive by dusk," Sakura said. She then stood up, brushed herself off and set up her area for some well-deserved rest.

* * *

Even with the adjusted slower pace they beat their projected arrival time. They arrive just after 1400 hours. Tsunade wanted Itachi's report first. Sakura sat outside on the office bench and waited for them to wrap up. Startle at the sound of the door creaking open Sakura's head shot up to meet Itachi's face. "Sakura-san, please join us."

Sakura followed Itachi back into the room.

"It's good to see you, Sakura," Tsunade said with a smile on her face. "But you look like shit."

Sakura sweat dropped as she gave her an exasperated smile in return. "It's been a long week."

Tsunade straightened up as she prepared to talk, "Sakura, due to these special circumstances, I have decided to inform you of the details of Itachi's mission. Just south of Imosen, we have been having reports of drug trafficking and trade. Itachi was sent to confirm this intel, and further investigate via reconnaissance. What Itachi found was…. troubling," Tsunade looked at the two ninjas in front of her. "Itachi, would you please share with Sakura was you recounted to me earlier?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Itachi turned towards Sakura, "The intel that we received was confirmed by what I witnessed. The reconnaissance mission was a success up until the fourth day. The traffickers had received a shipment in a large metal shipping crate, but what was inside was not another drug shipment. It was one man, with a large metal collar around him. He was thin, almost all bones. One of the men walked up to him and gave him an injection. His body began to mutate. His arms and legs swelled as his muscles enlarged. His chakra began to act erratically, with spikes unattributed to any jutsu. He began to rampage on his handlers. After the sent an electrical charge to his neck he calmed and returned to previous size. Later that night they injected him again, except he managed to remove the collar. He broke free of their base and rampaged. I managed to stop him before he reached Imosen with a lightening jutsu, but before I could detain him, the drug traffickers had followed his trail. To avoid detection, I left him in their path. When he transformed back, he didn't have a single scratch on him from our fight."

"Your injuries…," Sakura trailed and Itachi nodded in confirmation. "Incredible," Sakura said in awe. "Disgusting," she said as it all started to sink in.

The room was quiet as they let Sakura digest the news.

"So," Sakura stated, "how does this involve me?"

It was decided that Sakura and Itachi would work together to figure this situation out. They needed time to think and recount the details, and really, they needed more information. "Itachi-san," Sakura said. She was nibbling on the side of her lip. Itachi looked over to her. They were standing outside of the Hokage's office. "Would you join me for some tea and dango?"

Itachi gave a quiet, "Hn," in response and they walked together to a nearby dango shop.

Sakura was still trying to process her thoughts. A mutation caused by a drug. A man who was extremely skinny or malnourished. How is it possible for his body to create mass in the matter of minutes? It just didn't add up for her.

Itachi ordered two green teas and a plate of dango as Sakura trailed behind. She was too wrapped up to even process her surroundings. Sakura followed Itachi all the way to a park bench where he took a seat. She stood next to him as he began to eat his sweet treat. "Itachi-san?"

Itachi looked up at her from his bench. "None of this adds up. It shouldn't be possible physiologically."

"I just – I just don't know."

"Sakura-san," Sakura was pulled back into realty, "That is why Hokage-sama decided to inform you. Not even the Godaime knows at this point. We both believe that you will be an invaluable asset in this mission."

Sakura blushed. While it wasn't straight forward she knew a compliment when she heard it. With a sigh she plopped herself down on the bench next to Itachi and pulled a stick of dango off his plate. They sat in silence as they both contemplated what they saw and what their next steps should be. Together they finished the plate, and sipped on lukewarm green tea.

"Ne Itachi-san," Sakura put her last dango stick down on the empty plate. "Tomorrow morning at 0800 hours, meet me for a follow up appointment for your injuries. Sakura stood up and smiled at Itachi. He didn't respond but she knew he heard, "Well, Ja ne," she said as she ran off.

Sakura was itching to get home and take a warm bath. Her achy muscles needed it and she hoped it would help clear her mind. On her way home she thought how similar and yet how different Itachi was compared to Sasuke. On the surface, it was undeniable that they were similar. Both were the silent types, excellent in what they do, aloof – but now that she's had some time with Itachi she was beginning to realize how different they were as well. Itachi was never rude and he didn't seem to pick fights. Sasuke often argued with Naruto and would wait to say something snarky. Itachi was more the type to sit back and listen. He was peaceful while Sasuke was aggressive.

At first glance they were similar, but once you looked underneath the underneath they were opposites. No wonder they often get into spats. Working with Itachi, someone so cool and collected was like a refreshing glass of water in a windy desert.

* * *

After her bath and good nights rest, Sakura woke up for work. She was only going to work a half day at the hospital and then take some time for herself. She had some things that she wanted to check on, and a couple of appointments to meet.

At the hospital Sakura spotted Jun and Rena, two medics who were still fresh out of their training. They weren't spectacular, but they showed promise. Sakura greeted them and overheard them gossiping about Mr. Black Hair and Brooding himself. She smiled knowingly and continued with her day.

At 0800 Sakura met with Itachi to check on his wounds from their mission. She knew the state the she left his body in, but she wanted to confirm that the natural healing process was progressing well. Sakura instructed Itachi to remove his shirt and to lay on the table. With her mystic palm placed over his chest, she ran a scan. 'Perfect,' she thought to herself. His internal organs were running very well, and there was virtually no scar tissue. It was almost as if the injuries never happened. Sakura leaned in and took note of his skin coloration. It had returned from black and blue to his trademarked ivory.

Without as much of a knock on the door, Rena waltzed into the examination room.

"Ah! I-ta-chi-kuun," Rena says, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Is there anything I can get you," she batted her eyes. "A water? Do you need a refill on your soldier pills?" Rena shifted her weight and leaned over slightly, "I heard you were on a really important mission. All of the details were confidential." Her chest hung slightly out of her top.

Sakura grinned evilly. Poor guy. She hadn't seen anyone be so direct in a long time. And to blatantly admit on checking where he was! Sakura was stunned. She debated letting Rena take over the examination but decided she would spare him.

"Thank you, Rena," Sakura said commandingly. "But I can handle my own patients."

Rena immediately straightened and with a curt apology left. She slammed the door behind her.

Itachi lifted an eyebrow at Sakura, displaying the most expression she had seen from him yet. Sakura smiled brightly. "Amazing," she said. "She even checked the mission roster." Sakura motioned for Itachi to sit up. "You better watch your back Uchiha," Sakura teased, "Or should I say, 'I-ta-chi-kuun." Sakura watched Itachi slightly pale. The ever so subtly change in skin tone was hard for her keen eyes to miss. "Well, Uchiha-san, you're good to go. You've healed nicely. Give your body a couple days to rest, and it'll be like nothing ever happened." Sakura quickly scribbled some notes on the patient chart, and then turned to leave. "Take care."

The next couple of hours passed by quickly. Sakura took the rest of the day to run some errands and give some serious thought to her research on the virus and to her latest mission at hand. She seemed to have a lot more on her plate than she anticipated, and it was all high priority. Sakura first let her mind drift to Itachi again, and what he had told her with the Hokage. The thought of a drug that could do that to someone sent shivers down her spine. How barbaric. She needed to know more though, to draw her own conclusions. If only she could see what Itachi had seen.

Sakura froze – this was the best idea she's had in a long time. She can see exactly what Itachi had seen. She forgot that he wasn't a normal ninja. No. He was an extraordinary ninja who was blessed with the sharingan. It was very possible that he could recreate that night for her in a matter of seconds using genjutsu. Coming out of her trance Sakura paid her bill at her weapons smith and left immediately to find the prodigy himself. Sakura wasn't sure what the effects of a genjutsu this strong on her body would be – especially because she was so sensitive to it, but it was a risk she needed to take.

There were more than likely only a few places Itachi would be on his day off. Sakura pushed her chakra to see if she could sense him anywhere near. Nothing. Sakura head off towards the training grounds in search of him. After pushing her chakra a few km across several different training grounds she decided she would check the grand library. No luck there as well. Sakura searched across Konoha looking for this one man, when she finally gave into where he most likely was.

Her least favorite option by far – The Uchiha Compound. With an internal groan she walked slowly to the compound dreading having to look for him here. She greeted the guards as she entered, and made her way to the main house.

"Konnichiwa Haruno-san. Are you here to see Sasuke-sama," the servant asked.

Sakura shook her head, "Is Itachi-sama here?"

The servant nodded, "May I ask your business with him?"

Sakura internally sighed, coming here was always humiliating. She didn't know how Naruto could do it so often, "It is confidential." The servant nodded once more, and then left to retrieve him.

Sakura sigh audibly and took a seat in the front room.

"Sakura," she heard a man say. She knew the voice immediately.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke slouched casually, with his hands in his pockets.

"Official business," she replied casually. She didn't know if Sasuke was over his last fight with his brother but wasn't keen on finding out right now.

"Do we have a mission," Sasuke asked clearly confused as to why he didn't receive a summons. Sakura shook her head.

"Sakura-san," Itachi said entering from a hallway.

Sakura awkwardly fidgeted, "Long time no see," she attempted to joke. "I have something I need to discuss with you."

Sasuke frowned deeply, and his brow furrowed. "You're here to see…my ani?"

"Official business," Sakura said again trying to keep her cool. She avoided making eye contact with Sasuke, starting feel guilty for working with his older brother. It was beginning to feel like she was only allowed one or the other as a colleague.

"Sakura," Sasuke sternly, "What exactly was you last mission?"

Sakura blanched. She really didn't like where this was going. "Sa-Sa-Sasuke-kun," Sakura stuttered out, "It's classified."

"Tch." Sasuke's frown deepened and he turned away from them and faced the front entrance. Sasuke walked out the front and slammed the door behind. Sakura felt a tightness in her chest, and she tried to grasp it with her hand. She couldn't have known Sasuke would get so angry, and she didn't have a reason to feel guilty, but she felt like she was betraying him, even though she was only doing her job. Sakura took a few moments to breathe and then looked up at Itachi with her eyes slightly downcast. She felt ashamed of her reaction.

"Sakura-san," Itachi said gently, "What is it you came for?"

Sakura did her best to push her feelings aside and focus at the problem at hand. "I have an idea," she said. "Is there anywhere we can talk privately?"

Itachi led Sakura to a room downstairs, it was dank and dark, but all that matter was it was secure.

"That night you described – I kept trying to visualize what you meant, but it's so incredulous sounding that it's hard for me to truly picture. And there no way for me to know if what I'm picturing is accurate to your recount," Sakura said. "So, I got to thinking, do you think it's possible for you to recreate it, in a genjutsu for me to watch? All the events that happened from the arrival the man, to when he was found by the drug traffickers after your fight. Everything – every sensation, smell, and visual that you experienced."

Itachi stared at Sakura for a moment. He seemed unsure of what to say. "It is possible, but your body may suffer physical consequences from the mental stress." Itachi spoke slowly to make his words clear. Sakura thought that he even sounded a little concerned. "While I am not a medical expert, the sharingan has powerful effects on the victim's body that you need to be prepared for."

Sakura nodded. She felt unsure, but she knew that this needed to happen for her to understand what they were getting into. "I understand Itachi-san, but in this case the pros outweigh the cons."

"Very well," he said, and his eyes spun red. Fear seeped into Sakura as she prepared for the worst. For just a few moments before she was locked in, Sakura knew what terror felt like.


	3. Chapter 3

Two's Company Ch. 3

Hi ya'll! This one is much shorter than the previous two. I just wanted to get something out for you while you waited. School started back up, so my schedule has been a little tighter. I hope to finish up the next chapter this weekend since I'm off.

I've never written an action scene before, so I found this a little difficult to write. I hope that it came out well.

Also, I've finally admitted to myself that this isn't going to be a shorter three-part story like I originally planned, but I know I don't want to drag it out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and have a great week! Let me know what you think. 😊

* * *

Sakura felt herself breathe quietly. She was in a tree, camouflaged into her surroundings, looking at a dock about a mile away. She felt almost no fatigue on her body. She was fit and ready for action. Her surroundings suddenly vanished and reappeared significantly closer to the water. "Transportation jutsu," she thought. What she was experiencing was odd. She had never been through anything like this before. A genjutsu that felt so real, every breathe and sound down to the chirp of cicadas – she was constantly reminding herself that she wasn't here. The hardest part for her to get through though, was the lack of control she had. She couldn't crane her head to look to her side, every movement was the same as Itachi had done. Every sensation that she felt was mimicking the actual events. It was terrifying to think about. The sheer skill and mental power that it took to create this was monumental. Sakura internally shuddered at the thought of Itachi's power.

Itachi crouched down and looked hard at a shipping container. "This is it," she thought to herself. Itachi's sharingan flicked on and she was able to see exactly what he saw. The faint amount of chakra within the container. She then saw two men retrieve the skinny malnourished man from inside. The man who was kept in the freighter was clearly suffering. His skin clung to his bones and draped down from the pull of gravity. He had a large metal collar around his neck, just how Itachi described. It hung over his shoulders, clearly too big for his stature.

They injected him with a fluid, but it was impossible to tell what exactly it was. The man started to transform. His body mutated disgustingly. The whole process looked painful, and yet not a single scream left his mouth. Instead you could hear gasps of surprise and disgust from the drug traders that were present. It seemed like it was their first time witnessing it. Sakura herself felt the need to retreat from the scene but Itachi's body stayed put – diligently analyzing what was before him. She physically felt the spikes in his chakra. They came in strong waves, each pulse stronger than the last.

First, the arm that was injected began to swell and then his hand and chest. His body expanded wherever the blood was flowing to. His chest cavity, his left leg, then his head and his right arm and finally his right leg. His skin was bright red from the sudden expansion, and white lines of stretch marks were distinctly visible across his body. Sakura was disgusted. Who could ever do this to another human?

The man became more agitated as the transformation completed. He finally let out a loud roar and he fisted his hands. He began to run erratically at the handlers. He picked up the closest one and held onto his chest with one hand and his legs with the other. The now monster then pulled the handler's body apart, the poor man's insides falling out onto the pavement. The people around screamed and ran for cover. Sakura wanted so badly to look away. She felt herself getting nauseous at the site. She had seen a lot of brutality on the battle field but nothing like this. She felt Itachi's body tense as he prepared for a battle, but as quickly it had started it was over. A man that was standing over a hundred feet away surrounded by armed guards, clicked a button and the monster's collar lit up and bright bolts of electricity resonated through the monster's body. The man holding the remote had a grin on his face.

The monster's body began to deflate, in the same fashion that it expanded in. Limb by limb his size went back to what it previously was. His skin once more clung and hung. You could see the outline of the bones and his slim under developed muscles. The malnourished man collapsed to the ground clearly exhausted from what just occurred. Sakura once again felt nauseated but pushed the urge away. She could feel slight beads of sweat that formed on Itachi's hairline from the intensity of the situation.

The drug traffickers forced the skinny man to stand and shoved him in towards a few buildings that were to the right of the port. Itachi's heart rate slowed down to a resting rate and he sat for a moment longer. Suddenly Sakura's surroundings changed again. She was now surrounded by trees and foliage. The sky was dark, and the only light was from the moon. Itachi jumped up into the branches and traveled quickly, eventually he could see lights coming from a nearby settlement. Itachi hugged the tree line and observed from afar. He activated sharingan, which improved his night vision. He had a view of the skinny man, who was being held by restraints attached to metal poles that were cemented into the ground. Sakura dubbed him Patient D.I.M. (Drug Induced Mutation).

A handler approached the restrained Patient D.I.M. It was almost comical to see a man who looked so weak to have such heavy chains and the shock collar around him, but she and the men knew that once he transformed it would be a much different story. The man lifted his arm and injected the substance into him once again. The mutation slowly spread as each limb swelled. After the transformation was complete Patient D.I.M. grew agitated, aggressive and violent. He fought against his chains, and thick metal rattled loudly against itself. The men around him laughed as he tugged to get use of his arms. Patient D.I.M. roared and swung his arms harder and harder. The metal poles were lifted out of the ground, with the concrete still attached at the bottom. He immediately punched at his neck and cracked the collar. He tugged it off and the sharp edges scraped against his hardened skin. He swung his arm towards the men, and the pole swung into three of them. Patient D.I.M. leaped towards the tree line, heading in what Sakura assumed was North, towards Imosen.

Itachi quickly moved into action. He couldn't let this _thing_ have contact with innocent people. He ran along Patient DIM, but there weren't many openings that would allow him a solid attack. Finally, there was a chance, the trees had grown too close together in one area and Patient DIM couldn't easily force his way around. Itachi struck with lightning speed. Sakura could barely process the fight that was happening. Itachi landed several blows on Patient D.I.M. but they barely marred him. Sakura could feel the power building within Itachi as he prepared for another attack. Itachi moved in with his regulation katana and sliced right through the Patient D.I.M.'s arm. It was clean off the shoulder blade. Itachi quickly prepared for his next move as he read Patient D.I.M.'s movements. Itachi moved to take Patient D.I.M.'s next arm but was struck back into his chest. A new arm hard formed where the previous one was cut off. It was bright right and larger than the last. Sakura felt Itachi's pain with the blow. She heard and felt his ribs crack from within. She felt her breathing become labored. The pain was immense but Itachi stood back up and prepared for the fight. At this moment Sakura wasn't sure how Itachi had made it out alive. She was terrified, and it wasn't even her fight.

As Itachi recovered from the blow Patient D.I.M. quickly grabbed Itachi and dragged him across the forest floor. He then swung him into one of the trees that was previously blocking his path. The sharp roots and fallen kunai tore into Itachi's skin, causing the lacerations that Sakura had previously treated. When his body collided with the tree she felt one of Itachi's ribs puncture his lung. Sakura herself was gasping for air, attempting to claw at and clench her chest as she mentally worked through the pain. Sakura panicked when she realized she didn't have control of her limbs, forgetting that this was all just a genjutsu. Itachi regained his footing and substituted himself away so that he could get the upper hand. He quickly formed the hand signs for a jutsu that he once copied from Kakashi. Violent streaks of lightening formed in his hand and he pushed it into Patient D.I.M.'s back. Patient D.I.M. morphed back into his malnourished self, and once again collapsed onto the ground. Itachi crouched to recover him. His body looked unscathed. The same as he was before the drugs were given to him. No visible wounds from the fight. A sensation of unfamiliar chakra alerted his body to the oncoming drug traffickers. Itachi quickly moved Patient D.I.M. closer to their path, and he observed from the tree line as they picked him up.

"Look at this fucking wreck," one of the said.

"I almost shit myself when the boss told us to go after him," another chimed in.

"How do you think he turned back," the first man asked.

"I don't fucking know and I'm just glad he did. Let's get out of here."

The world around Sakura faded to black. She opened her eyes to the dank dark room that she was standing in with Itachi. Sakura held her hands up and looked at them intently, confirming that she could move them and that this was real. She then hunched over and clenched her stomach tightly. Unable to fight the nausea she emptied the contents of her stomach. Her eyes were clenched shut and a small tear escaped.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello Everyone! It's been a while! I had forgotten how much fun I had with this story. It's probably one of my favorites that I've ever written. I really appreciate the support that I get even though it's been so long. I love reading your kind words. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and please look forward to future ones.

Enjoy!

* * *

A warm hand touched her back as she stayed bent over. Her mind and body were still trying to process the events, the stress causing her body to shake. "Sakura, are you alright?"

Sakura didn't respond. She barely registered that someone was talking to her. She collapsed onto her knees, her mind muddled and her head throbbing. 'What was that,' she thought as inner Sakura tried to help her get her bearings. She knew that what she just experienced wasn't supposed to be torture, and that she could have stopped it at any moment, but she was stunned, like a deer in headlights.

Sakura sat back onto her butt. She lifted her hands above her head to help her breathe. 'I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay,' she chanted mentally and closed her eyes. After several deep breaths she opened her eyes. Itachi was crouched down staring intently at her. Startled, Sakura scooted back slightly. She noticed how big of a man he was in comparison to her. Sakura looked back up at him, and she saw hints of concern, the corners of his lips pointed down. He was probably aware of the physical and mental affects his genjutsu would have on her body, as it was an invaluable tool in the battlefield. He didn't intend this to be a punishment. He was just showing her what he felt and saw. Sakura's heart rate began to drop, and she slumped back on her hands as she relaxed.

"How much time has passed," she asked.

"Just over three hours," Itachi replied. Sakura's jaw dropped. Three whole hours. There was no wonder that her mind and body had such a violent reaction after being released.

"While I could have sped up time even more within the genjutsu, it could have had a much more damaging effect on your mind. The risk wasn't necessary."

"I need to…get home," Sakura said. Words were a little hard for her to find. "I need to rest."

Itachi nodded and stood up from his crouched position. He offered a hand to help her up.

Sakura gratefully took it and steadied herself. She felt incredibly off balance. She was even a little concerned that she would have difficulty finding her way back. Sakura briefly thought she could heal herself, but quickly decided against it. There was no way she could safely perform any procedure in her current state.

Itachi led Sakura through the house. He was careful to avoid any of the servants or family members. When they exited his family home she noted how dark and quiet it was. It was probably late, people already back to their homes for the night. When they reached the compound gate Sakura put up her hand to wave goodbye, but he kept walking with her. She figured it was for the best, as she was having a difficult time orienting herself in the direction of her home.

"Ne, Itachi-san," Sakura said, interrupting the light whispers of the wind. "Why is Sasuke-kun upset with you?" Sakura couldn't help but be curious, especially after the cold shoulder he had given her earlier.

Itachi audibly sighed, to her surprise. "Sasuke is a complicated young man," Itachi started, his words hesitant. "He expects a lot from the world, but often times, the world will not deliver."

Sakura pursed her lips. In her current state she couldn't even begin to understand what he meant, but she at least knew not to pry any more. She would have to interrogate Naruto at some point to find out more. Itachi stopped walking and he turned to face Sakura, he nodded up to the apartment building in front of him. Sakura smiled brilliantly. The thought of her bed, cozy blankets, and soft pillows filled her up with glee. Sakura quickly patted her pockets to feel for her keys but had no luck. Concerned she dove in and looked with her eyes. "Shimata…," Sakura said quietly as reality set in. She couldn't remember where she left them, and they certainly weren't where they belonged. Sakura groaned at the thought of having to break _another_ lock to get a good night's rest.

Without a word Itachi jumped away. Sakura sighed and realized what she would have to do. She knew that if she concentrated hard enough she would be able to channel her chakra correctly. She began to gather it into her hand, and she fought against herself and the erratic pulls of power she felt. 'Unstable,' she thought to herself. As her hand neared the doorknob, the door was effortlessly pulled in without her touch, and Itachi stood behind it.

"Arigatou, Itachi-san," she said a blush forming. She thought that he left to be on his way home. She did take up most of his whole day off.

"Hn," Itachi responded as he stepped aside to let her in. Sakura found her way to her bedroom and bid Itachi goodnight. She was a little too disoriented to walk him to the front door, but she trusted him to let himself out. Her head still reeling, she crawled into sheets and closed her eyes. Her body and mind were exhausted. Sleep claimed her quickly.

Sakura had a dreamless sleep. She woke up and tried to process the previous day's events. The drugs, the genjutsu, patient DIM, and…Sasuke. She felt guilty about it. Her dear friend was probably feeling betrayed and angry at her. But she didn't really understand why. Sakura's heart ached that she couldn't take the time to work things out with her dear friend. She had a lot of responsibilities that took precedent over her personal life now.

Her memories weren't all the way there. There were parts of the walk that she couldn't really remember, so she was grateful that Itachi was there to see her home. Things could have gone much worse if he hadn't been such a gentleman.

Her first course of action though, would be to start her lab research on this mystery virus. One that seemed to leave as fast as it came. Sakura stretched and then stood up. Her head reeled and she briefly lost balance. She was still a little bit off from yesterday. She tested her chakra control and found it to be back up to her standards. She placed her mystic palm against one ear and then the other, helping her inner ear find her balance again. "Much better," Sakura said aloud to herself.

She quickly showered and then started a bath. While her tub filled, she walked into the kitchen to quiet her growling stomach. On her kitchen counter she found her house keys, with a small notecard placed beside it. Curious, Sakura grabbed the card. It read, "Found them – Itachi Uchiha." Sakura smiled to herself and put the card back down. A gentleman indeed.

Sakura prepared two slices of toast and avocado and then went back to her room to get ready for the day.

Once she entered the hospital she went straight to her lab. She needed some quality time with this virus to help clear her mind and get back on track. She would have to manage her time carefully if she would be working on both a cure to this virus _and_ investigating the drug induced transformation she witnessed yesterday.

Sakura carefully unpacked her virus cultures, frozen in time from the day she packed them. They came back to life, as they warmed in the incubator. Sakura quickly jotted down any initial observations and then dove into preparations. She introduced the virus in its purest for to pUC19 (a vector used commonly used in cloning). As the pUC19 grew and divided, it would also make copies of the virus - similar to the natural process in human cells. She wanted to learn everything about it, but unfortunately, that required time. After prepping and plating her samples in hopes of growing more, she took a seat at her desk and pulled out a fresh notebook. She labeled it Patient DIM.

On the first page, she described her initial thoughts when learning about it and then the events leading up to her witnessing the actual transformation. Sakura gripped her pen tightly when she thought about being entrapped in the genjutsu. She had truly been underestimating the Sharingan, for every sensation to be so real and so undeniable. She could smell the air, and feel the humidity on her skin, but she had absolutely no control. The entire event took so much out of her physically and mentally. It was nothing compared to anything she had experience before. Even with several training matches with Sasuke, nothing was to this level.

She unfortunately was not an expert in the full extent of the genjutsu prowess of the Sharingan, but she sure would investigate now, and take more care before willingly (and possibly unwillingly) entering one again. She was close with three users now, and two of them were on her childhood team. Sakura cursed herself for not knowing more prior to this.

She stilled herself and mustered up the courage to recount what she felt and witnessed. With each line written she recalled the sickening events of what Itachi had lived. The injections, the mutations and everything in between. Sakura closed the notebook, having done what she needed to do. She quickly tapped her pen against her desk when a knock on the door pulled her back to reality.

"Come in," she shouted from across the room. The door slowly creaked open and low and behold, the man of the hour. Mr. Itachi Uchiha himself. Sakura's heart lurched but she couldn't quite place why, she felt her palms get a little sweaty and her forehead getting hot. 'Is it guilt, for making him walk me home? Fear, from yesterday? Could it be lo-, no no no. Not that,' Sakura's thoughts ran wild. Maybe she _was_ still off from yesterday.

"Itachi-san," Sakura straightened, "What brings you here?"

"How are you feeling, Sakura-san," Itachi asked. Sakura could pin point just the slightest bit of concern in his expression.

"Tip top shape," she replied with a chirp.

"Will you join me for lunch," Itachi asked, looking a little relieved. If Sakura didn't know better, she might think he felt a little guilty for yesterday.

"Of course," Sakura gladly accepted.

Sakura and Itachi walked together in silence. They carried light conversation about training and the nice weather, but the conversation was largely steered away from what desperately needed to be discussed. Patient DIM. Sakura felt cowardly for avoiding it, but she wasn't quite ready yet. She was grateful that Itachi didn't push the subject.

She pushed her daunting thoughts aside though and mused on Itachi for a bit when the conversation came to a lull. It was nice to spend more time with him. While he wasn't a chatter box like Ino-pig or Naruto-kun, his presence was nice. He was thoughtful and polite, and seemed to show genuine interest in even their pointless small talk – which was another thing surprised her. She didn't take him as one for chatting about simple things like the weather. She felt herself becoming more at ease with him nearby, her tension from the previous night fading.

Lunch flew by and before she knew it, she was back at the hospital checking on her cultures. She felt refreshed and was in a particularly good mood. While she still housed a healthy fear for the monster that was Patient DIM, she wasn't panicked. She would take her time and think everything through thoroughly later. No need to let this matter distract her from her other important work.

Days turned into weeks as she made progress in her research. She recently discovered that the virus can enter a sort of dormancy. While it still inserted its protein code into the host cell's DNA, there was little to no effect on the host. It was very curious, and honestly, very troubling for her friends and patients located in Imosen. What if the patients weren't improving because we treated them, but were instead only improving because the virus was dormant? Sakura felt a pit in stomach upon this realization. At what point will the virus resurface, and hurt these people again? Can the virus still spread from fluid to fluid contact if its dormant? Despite all her questions, the academic research progressed at a steady rate. She would have answers soon.

Unfortunately, her medical ninjustsu cure she had been working on was slow to develop. The whole process was time consuming. As she needed to have a large number of samples to work on, she was constantly cloning the virus and feeding its host so that she wouldn't run out. She didn't want to admit it, but her progress with removing the protein code, and keeping the cell alive was disappointing. It was disheartening almost, because she had seen such great results in trials with previously known viruses. Her appreciation for the human body's reaction to just kill the host cell instead of trying to save it was at an all time high. She wished that she could just do that, but that wasn't the point of this technique.

Her research on Patient DIM was another disappointment. She couldn't progress much further without a sample of the drug, or a blood sample of the man himself. She had a notebook filled with hypotheses, but no evidence or experiments to verify it.

Sakura glanced up at the clock in her lab, 1400. 'I guess he's not coming today,' she thought to herself. Sakura and Itachi had begun meeting for lunch a few times a week. He seemed to have a healthy interest in her work with the virus. She was not looking forward to telling him of this most recent discovery and its potential dangers. Pushing those thoughts away, she started another batch of clones to keep her mind busy.

Sakura slept in. Her alarm clock was shattered on the floor. She regretted staying at the hospital so late. She didn't even do anything meaningful. 'Stupid paperwork,' she thought. She had been so absorbed into her work these past few weeks, that she conveniently avoided a stack of paperwork that seemed to never stop growing. Sakura sighed. She really needed a break. Between training, the hospital, and her pressing research, she was all work and no play. Begrudgingly, she dragged herself to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Sakura arrived at the hospital at 1300. She didn't care that she was a more than a few hours late. She greeted the security at the door and as she walked through the familiar white hallways. Jun and Rena were gossiping at the nurse's station and hushed as she walked by.

Sakura descended a flight of stairs and heard yelling in the distance.

"Oi," a rough voice called. "What are _you_ doing down here?"

Sakura sighed, she knew by the first word who it was. "First teme, and now teme number two!" Sakura entered the hall with her lab and office and frowned at the motely crew. Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi were standing next to the lab door, the first two causing a bit of a ruckus.

"Naruto-kun," Sakura called, "We're in a hospital, keep it down." Sakura's tone was harsh, but she couldn't have her teammates disrupting the machine that is her hospital.

Naruto froze in place as he saw her, "Sa-sa-sakura-chan!" Naruto turned around slowly, with a mischievous smile. "Gomen, gomen."

With her boys quieted, Sakura gave them a smile, "So what's up?" Sakura causally unlocked the door to her lab and sat in her swivel chair.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, we haven't really seen you around," Naruto started, as the boys followed her in. "Do you want to get ramen tonight?"

She saw Sasuke's shoulders slump slightly, and pursed her lips, "How about Korean BBQ instead?"

"But Sakuraaaaaaaa-chaaa-," Naruto started but was met with a bonk on his head.

"Shut dobe, Korean BBQ sounds great," Sasuke said, his hand still in a fist above Naruto's head.

Sakura smiled at the duo and then remembered her one other visitor, "Itachi-san, would like to join us?"

All eyes were on Sakura. She didn't expect the boys to have such a response, but then remembered the spat that Sasuke had with his brother.

Itachi kept his cool posture and politely said, "I unfortunately cannot tonight. Thank you though, for the invitation," Itachi stepped closer to the group, "Sakura." Her named rolled smoothly off his tongue and sent shivers down her spine. Not even an honorific, how bold.

Sasuke immediately tensed and stared hard at his brother with a frown. "Come dobe, let's get out of here." He tugged on the back of Naruto's bright orange jacket and started to pull him out of the room, "We'll see you tonight – 1900 hours, Sakura." He waved his hand up and walked out, not looking back.

"Oi, Teme, let me go," Sakura heard Naruto yell as the door slammed behind them.

Sakura stared at the door, slightly in shock. 'How weird,' she thought to herself. "Itachi….san," Sakura added, embarrassed at thought of leaving off the honorific. Her and Itachi had only been on one mission together, and now – was she supposed to drop the honorific altogether? "What brings you here?"

"Sakura-san," Itachi said. Sakura was internally relieved at the honorific. "While it's a little late for –," Itachi started as the door slammed open.

"Sakura-sempai," Rena burst in, "We need you upstairs." Normally Sakura would not allow such behavior in her lab let alone the hospital, but the panic in Rena's eyes spoke volumes.

"Gomen, Itachi-san," Sakura said. "We'll pick this up another time?" She asked but didn't leave time for a reply. She was already out the door and heading to the emergency department.

Rena briefed Sakura on their way up. A genin team had apparently stumbled onto something they shouldn't have during an escort mission. They ran into some bandits down south, and while most of the kids were okay, the jounin had taken quite the beating. He was in critical condition, they had to act fast. Sakura's mystic palm went to work as she healed the man in front of her. She worked on closing his open wounds, then repairing the internal bleeding. The nurses set up a blood transfusion, and then wiped away her sweat. It was going to be a long night.

Sakura was tired. It took hours to knit him back together. After, she checked on the genin, while their condition was assessed when they returned, she wanted to see them in person, just in case. Their circumstances sounded all too familiar to a mission she had when she was their age. Sakura left the final genin's hospital room and leaned on the wall. She felt her eyes wanting to close and took a moment to breathe. 'What a night,' she thought to herself. She wanted nothing more than to fall asleep right here, but she knew better than that.

Sakura walked to the Doctor's lounge and shed her blood-stained clothes and lab coat. She dropped them directly into the hazardous clothing bin. She pulled some old scrubs from her locker and slowly dressed herself. The usual rock hard couch looked awfully comfortable, but the payoff would be much better if she slept in her comfy bed. Sakura dragged herself out of the hospital, letting her muscle memory walk her home. It was daylight now, she vaguely wondered how long she had been holed up for, but she didn't care at this point.

Sakura didn't bother taking off her shoes, or showering when she got home, she laid face first on her bed. Finally, she could close her eyes and drift off to –

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She didn't bother to open her eyes. 'It's just your imagination,' she thought to herself.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"SAKURA-CHAAANNN! I know you're home," Naruto's loud voice shouted.

Sakura wanted to cry. "Please no," she said softly. Her bed was so comfortable, she was so close to sleep. It was seconds away.

"Sakura-chaaaan," he called again.

"Oi, shut up dobe," she heard another voice shout, ironically saying, "you're too loud."

She peeled herself off the bed and walked to the front door. Pulling it open she frowned deeply.

They boys froze and took a good look at her.

"You look like shit," Naruto blurted. Sasuke frowned at Naruto and hit him on the head.

"We had plans last night, what gives," Sasuke asked. Judging by her shape, they could probably guess.

Sakura sighed, and tried to keep her cool. She had completely forgotten about dinner. Trying to calm down in inner volatile cranky thoughts, "I'm sorry," Sakura leaned up against her doorframe, "there was an emergency and it lasted all night."

"Ne Sakura-chan, you're not just getting back are you," Naruto asked worried. He didn't notice the scrubs until just now.

Sakura nodded tiredly.

"Ah well, uhm," Naruto started, as he began to feel bad for disturbing her.

"Go get some rest," Sasuke said coolly. "Let's go, Dobe."

With the boys gone, Sakura shut her door and was finally able to get her well-deserved rest.


End file.
